Saturday, December 20, 2014

I have been busy tinkering here at home with small things that we have collected over the years. I am recycling empty containers into simple Christmas decorations using the pretty little things that my kinds have found during our walks or small things that they got as gifts. First up are the small tree jars that was given to the kids by the homeroom Moms last year. They were filled with chocolates. Now that they are empty, I filled it with the small figurines that we have.

My son collected these baby pine cones last summer during one of our walks so I thought of using it to fill the tree jar, it made him happy that I used his collection.

The card that says "God's love is the Heart of Christmas" was given away by the second grade homeroom moms this year so I out it by the nativity scene figurine.

It is now sitting in our little corner nook that the kids have initially decorated.
I filled the other tree jar with sweets (tree cane and small candy canes). The kids received these sweets last year but they never really ate them so these would serve as decorations from now on.

Ain't that cute?

Another thing that I tinkered is this empty candle jar. I put two of the baby cones that daughter and I painted and a one holly branch.

The small pine branches are also from my son's nature collection. They are real pine leaves that he dried out so they smelled good.

I don't really decorate for any other holidays but I make sure to decorate on Christmas. If you are tired of putting up the same decor every year, you can alter them. Make something new out of something old. Pink Saturday

Thursday, December 11, 2014

This photo was taken before my first flight going out of the country took place. My Mom was very sad on that day because we never knew when we will see each other again. I was seven months pregnant when I flew out the Philippines. Before I left though, I had to secure a certification from my OB GYNe in the Philippines that I am safe to travel. She also gave me a medicine which would help me and the baby while traveling.

We know many pregnant women who are afraid to travel during pregnancy. If you love to travel, don’t think you can’t enjoy that anymore when you’re pregnant. Pregnancytips.org say that the most ideal trimester to travel is during the second trimester. Second trimester is ideal because, most pregnant women no longer suffer from nausea and morning sickness during this time, nor are you too big to be uncomfortable, especially during the rigors of air travel. Also, you don’t want to suddenly be in labor while travelling when you travel during your third trimester when you’re also more easily fatigued.

Always be cautious and seek advice from your OB Gyn about your plan of travelling. As long as there are no pregnancy complications, it is generally safe to travel. With your doctor’s blessing and your smart preparation, there’s no reason to sit home. Take advantage of your wanderlust now, before bringing baby home!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Every day, your pet faces the possibility of becoming poisoned by food or possibly by pesticides left out for rodents to eat. Because different types of poisons affect pets differently, it can be very difficult to recognize the classic signs of poisoning unless you know specifically what to look for. If your pet is suddenly acting sluggish or sick, it is important to get them to an animal emergency hospital right away. It is also important to note whether or not your pet has been around any dangerous and potentially poisonous substances. The more information you can give the veterinarian regarding potential causes of your pet’s symptoms, the more likely your veterinarian will be able to give them the proper treatment they need in time.

Symptoms of Pet Poisoning

Signs of poisoning in your pet can be varied and can exhibit very suddenly. Depending on the type of poison consumed, your pet may experience symptoms that affect the kidneys, intestines, liver, and other body systems. Here are a few of the most common poisoning symptoms to look out for:

Vomiting

Drooling

Diarrhea

Pale gums

Excessive urination or thirst

Decreased urination

Lethargy

Collapse

Racing heart rate

Vomiting blood

Extremely bad breath

Jaundice/yellow gum discoloration

Tar-like black stool

Acting abnormally

If you notice any of these symptoms, take your pet to the veterinarian immediately in order to increase the chances of your pet’s survival and healthy recovery.

Most Commonly Reported Pet Poisonings

Every year, thousands of pets are poisoned accidentally. Some of the most commonly reported poison dangers for pets include:

Foods: Chocolate, grapes, raisins, xylitol, and other human foods are poisonous to dogs and can cause a variety of symptoms. When it comes to chocolate, there is no amount that is safe for your dog to eat, and it is especially dangerous if it is a dark and concentrated type of chocolate. The artificial sweetener xylitol is also toxic for dogs and can result in liver failure in the most severe cases. Grapes and raisins are also very poisonous to dogs and can cause kidney failure if consumed.

Rodent Poisons: Chemical rodent poisons are left out for mice and rats to eat, but they can easily be discovered and consumed by your pets. All rodenticides are packed with chemicals that can cause brain swelling, internal bleeding, severe vomiting, bloating, and kidney failure in pets. It is also possible for cats or dogs to be poisoned by eating a rodent that has already died due to ingesting rodenticides.

Insecticides: Insecticides are not only dangerous for human toddlers, but they are also toxic to pets. Pesticides and insecticides that contain organophosphates are especially life-threatening for small pets, even in very small amounts. It is also important to note that some tick and flea treatments are ok to give to your dogs, but those same treatments can be dangerous and even deadly for cats. When in doubt about the safety of flea and tick treatments, always read the labeling.

Losing a pet due to poisoning can be a very tragic and life-changing experience. To keep your pets as safe as possible, be sure to limit their exposure to places that may contain poisons, and keep them away from human food.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

In three weeks, Christmas is here. Family and friends enjoy this kind of gathering catching up with each other of what's going on. Children get to see most of the family members and enjoy chasing and playing with each other. Our kids always anticipates for this kind of occasion.

I am grateful that we had a long weekend for the Thanksgiving because it gave us time to decorate the house for Christmas. I hold off in decorating early this year because hubby wants it after Thanksgiving so that's what we did.

Our decor is nothing fancy but it's good enough to convey the spirit of Christmas.

My kids were in-charged on decorating our rotating Christmas tree.

I love this fiber optic tree that Dad gave to the kids.

The kids are also in-charge in decorating their book case.

My SIL gave me some pine cones few years ago so daughter and I painted them and out some glitters to it. They make great Christmas decor in my opinion.

Some new addition to our decor this year. I got this from a garage sale for free. The woman selling it gave it for free along with other stuff to my kids. She said that since my kids were so good that she just gave most of the stuff we got for free.

The tin snowmen are so cute. What caught my attention in getting them in the first place is the fact that they are made oin the Philippines which somehow reminds me of my family back home.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Christmas is nice but it is the most stressful holiday for me. With all the shopping and planning, time passes by so fast. Gladly, a lot of companies are offering sale on almost everything including the passport that you might need for Fender. I did not even know that there is a Fender passport until I have came across it online when I was looking for a deal for the music instrument that our kids wants.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

I took these photos of the Fall foliage beauty near our area. These were taken on the first week of October so some of these trees have little leaves left. This is the time where I love Fall but when the trees are bald already, its depressing to see.

I love how nature can make everything beautiful. It can lift your spirit and moods up. Mother nature truly knows how to cheer us up. It cheers me up anyway.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Don't be fooled by my title, there is no other woman in my husband's life lol. Let me just clarify what this post is all about. Well, let me start by today's event in school. Today was my son's class saint day so hubby took a day off so we could both attend the mass and watch his participation as a reader in the mass.

I am glad that I was able to do my house cleaning and laundry yesterday. Lucky are those rich people who could afford the services of the other woman house cleaning as they don't have to do it. However, as a stay at home Mom, it is my pleasure to do it for my family.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Took these shots when we were getting the tour inside Google Headquarters in Mountain View California. I thought that these bikes are very colorful!

Google has so many neat outdoor and indoor displays. It was like watching the movie "The Internship" all over again. It was a really unique experience for our family. Our daughter did not win the Doodle4Google competition but we felt like winners just meeting wonderful and artistic people.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Being a Gemini, I always tend to do two things at a time. Sometimes it pays off but sometimes I forget what I am doing and it becomes a problem lol. Just like one day, I was cleaning our bathroom so I sprayed some cleaning stuff around our showerhead to removed the build up water but then I started scrubbing the bathroom floor and forgot to rinse off the showerhead right away. The result: the chemical in the cleaning product that I used left some dark spots on our showerhead.

Gladly, found a perfect replacement for it at danze website. This Florin is a 4 1/2 " with five function showerhead. Here's the full description of it from the website:

5 functions: wide, centerjet, aeration, massage and wide + centerjet.

Featuring Air Injection technology for a strong and yet smooth shower experience.

Brass ball joint with polymer shell.

Features Dual Force™ Technology.

Optimizes water intensity even at low pressures.

The air injection technology is what I love about this showerhead. Nothing can compare when your showerhead offers a strong but smooth shower experience. When I take shower, it makes me so sleepy that I want to take a nap after I get out of the shower lol. Anyway, there are so many beautiful selection of bathroom faucets and other kitchen gadgets at the website that I really like. If there's one thing that I would like to have next year is a newly-renovated kitchen. Our kitchen is very outdated and needs an face lift , big time! I wish I could win in some kind of sweepstakes for a new kitchen hahaha but I could only wish for that. Just looking at the photo below that I took from danze.com makes me wish that my kitchen is as modern, functional, and fabulous just like this one. I love my kitchen because it is spacious but everything in it is old and badly need of replacement but we don't have the budget for it.

There is an innovative showroom contest on Facebook that you can cast your vote in. I voted for the Ferguson Lakewood (photo below). That's the kind of kitchen design I would like to have at home. Modern and sleek!

The votes on this campaign right now is up to 1424. If you have a spare minute, please cast your vote, thank you! Good luck to Ferguson on this contest, I hope you get the award!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

It's been four years since my husband retired from his 20 years of services in the Navy. He was drafted in February 1990 and retired in 2010. He sacrificed a lot of being away from his family for 20 years but he is grateful that he joined the military, he said that it molded him of who he is now.

He enjoyed sailing around Asian countries. He was first deployed in the Philippines. From there, he was able to work in Japan, Korea, Australia, Guam and other parts of Asia.

Retired Navy 1990-2010

I am just glad that he was almost done with his services when I met him. We were able to experience his military career for 3 years and then he retired. It's hard moving from one place to another when you have kids but glad me and my kids have experienced what their Dad has been doing for 20 years.

I am bummed out that my husband has to go to work today. I wish that the company he works for will give the Veterans a special day off so they could enjoy this special day. Unfortunately, not many recognize the sacrifices that the Veterans did to serve and protect this country's freedom. In fact some people can't stand men and women in uniform for some reason. It's very sad but it is the reality. Not all people appreciates what they did/doing. Sorry for my rant but I hope my rambling make sense. Happy Veteran's Day!ABC Wednesday

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Walking is great form of exercise. I started my regular walking outdoors when my husband started his 4/10 schedule at work. 4/10 means that he only work 4 days in a week but for ten hours each day. It has advantages and disadvantages tot it but I like it. Advantages includes, he can no longer wait for the kids to go to school as he goes to work very early. He wakes up at 4:30 and leave for work at 5:30. So when the kids wakes up, their Dad is already at work. It is also advantageous because he stays longer than normal at work. I feel bad for him but I think that he is getting used to it and we are getting used to it as well.

It is advantageous because I get to walk my kids everyday to school and it gives me the opportunity to go for my morning walk after dropping them off from school. I also started attending the morning masses before going on for my walk which is a lot better.

Walking is a great form of exercise. I felt so good that I was able to finish last month of walking almost everyday of the weekdays. It is also a great opportunity for taking pictures. Sort of documenting my fitness routine.

I always bring my phone with me. Reasons being for emergency purposes and also for entertainment (listening to music and photography).

My kids are used to walking now. Before they would complain a little bit but now, they loved walking with me.

I love it when I walk by my daughter's classroom and they would wave at me.

I love that I did not miss the beauty of the Fall. Our neighborhood has some beautiful maple and oak trees that looks absolutely gorgeous during Fall season.

I love walking at the back of Madonna High school and look down the football field. Sometimes, there are deer in there and sometimes a flock of turkey.

As a stay-at-home-mom, I learned how to use my time wisely. Fitness is one of my priorities while my kids are at school. I want to show to them that fitness is one great aspect of life that needs to be priorotized.

I love the fact that my husband is okay that I should stay at home for now that my kids are still little and need my utmost attention. I don't really want to miss this opportunity with them.

We might not have the grandest house or expensive things but we have what is mo]st important, the love of family.

Sometimes, it makes me think and question if I am doing the right thing of not using my time to find a job so I can contribute to our finances but when my husband is telling me that we are doing okay with me staying at home, it makes me feel comfortable.

Hubby works from Mondays to Thursdays so Fridays becomes our alone-time. We walk our kids to school, attends mass after dropping them off, and we go for a walk.

November would be an indoor fitness for me I assume. The weather is getting colder and I am not sure if I could still endure it. I will try though.